Once Upon a Time, I Was Falling in Love
by Masquerade Madness
Summary: When a strange girl, who claims not to be human or mutant, is found by the X-Men, she starts to turn everybody's life upside down. What does she know about a certain speed demon of the Brotherhood? More importantly, who is she? Pietro/QuicksilverxCrystal
1. Enter Crystal, The Inhuman Royal!

Her world was spinning and crumbling around her as a young, teenage girl yelled and tried to case after the men who had her long, lost sister. They had just found the red head and now she was gone again. Everything around her became blurry as she fell to the ground, her mind slipping. He had got her again, and would probably erase her newly restored memory as well.

"Medusa...I'm sorry..." Whispered the teenager as the world around her went black.

* * *

"Professor, I think she's waking up!"

"Kurt, be quiet! You'll scare her!"

"Will you two please be quiet? She's just starting to wake up!"

Three voices argued. They all had very different accents, and were very loud. More importantly, where was she? Who were these people arguing very loudly around her? _Where is my sister? _All of the sudden, her ravaging thoughts stopped, calming her down a bit. She stirred, eventually opening her eyes. A bright light blinded her, but as her eyes adjusted to the light, she could finally see the people around her. _Who are these people? Where's my family?_ The panic in her began to rise again. The girl sat up, but regretted it as the blood rushed to her head. She groaned as she regained her sense, taking in the people around her.

Her eyes first landed on a young woman with fiery red hair and contrasting green eyes that showed concern. _Similar to Medusa, but not quite there yet._ The boy next to her right side was probably the same age, if not a bit older. He stood next to the red head, as if protecting her from any oncoming trouble. _Just like him, how ironic._ To his right, there was a woman with snow white hair, who seemed to be supervising the others around her. Three others were on the red haired girl's left. Two were very different girls; one was tall and pale and garbed in dark colors with white streaks in her dark hair, while the other girl was short, her brown hair in a ponytail, and her clothes in a pastel theme. The boy seemed like the most normal out of the bunch. _They are just like my family. How strange. Is it that we Inhumans and humans are not so different after all?_

"Please don't get too close to her, she just woke up." Said a voice that everyone in the room turned to. Once the group of teenagers and the older woman gave her her space back, she could finally see who was talking. A bald man in an automatic wheel chair came over to her and smiled. "Don't be afraid. I am Charles Xavier, owner of this school. You can call my Professor, though. These are a few of my students, Jean, Scott, Kitty, Rogue, and Kurt. And this is Ororo, one of the teachers here." When someones name was said, the person would wave at here or something of the sort.

From what she could tell, this wasn't a normal school. _Not normal at all. I don't think they are human, nor are they one of us. _She mused in her mind as she sat and listened to Professor Xavier, oblivious to the two new comers, although, they were kind of obvious, as one of them was blue and furry. "No, we are not normal nor humans. Though, I cannot honestly say that we are not one of your kind."

He chuckled at her surprised expression. "I am a telepath, enabling me to read the minds of others. Even though I have this gift, I do not probe the minds of others without reason. With that in mind, do you mind telling us who you are?" As she opened her mouth to speak, everyone else in the room perked up a bit, interested in what she had to say.

"I am Crystalia Amaquelin, member of the Royal Family of the Inhumans. I prefer that you call me Crystal, though." The girl, now known as Crystal, said, remember a proper greeting. Everyone in the room had a confused expression after she greeted herself. _Ignorant as ever, humans are. _She thought, mentally scoffing.

Crystal sighed, knowing the question on everyone's mind. "The Inhumans are a race of superior humans created by the Kree long ago. At birth, we are exposed to Terrigen Mist, which enable us with unique abilities."

"What can you do?" Asked the seemingly normal boy, which turned out to be one of the arguing voices earlier. "I can control the four classic elements: fire, water, air, and earth." Answered Crystal before Professor Xavier cleared his throat. "I apologize for interrupting, but I'm pretty sure you don't want to stay in here forever, Crystal. You'll be rooming with Jean for the time being. The red head from earlier walked over to Crystal and stock out her hand. "Hi, I'm Jean Grey."

As the Inhuman reached out to shake Jean's hand, the young male who was standing with her before had a look of worry on his face before Jean lead Crystal, who was wearing a pair of white pajamas, out of the room.

* * *

"How can you be so sure we can trust her, Professor!?" Scott said angrily after the girls had left. "Like, calm down, Scott. Crystal seems nice." Kitty tried to comfort him, but it was no use. Scott was in one of his ranting moods again, the kind that only one person can bring him out of.

Kurt nodded at Kitty's reply. "Yeah, she does seem nice. And she's just like us!" Scott glared at them through his glasses before turning his attention back at the professor. "No, she's not! She's completely different from us! She probably has others of her kind on their way right as we speak. Maybe she's a spy." He ranted irrationally before Professor Xavier gave him a stern look, clearly saying something telepathically to the boy.

Logan kicked himself off of the wall he was leaning on and walked over to Scott, glaring at him. "Don't you realize that you're saying the same thing humans say about us?" He snarled before walking out of the infimary, the others, except Scott and Professor Xavier, in tow.

"Logan is right, Scott. Think about what you've said just now, and the things you've heard."

* * *

**A/N:: Hi hi!! This is probably my first non-OC fic. :O OMG, so exciting...I think. Well, anywho, I wanted to write this story because Crystal wasn't in X-Men: Evo., and it pissed me off because I am a Pietro/Crystal fan at heart. I really don't care if you review, but it would be nice. Yes, I know, Scott is being an ass here. But, are you really surprised? No, me neither. He would probably act like that if some strange, non-mutant girl was rooming with Jean.**

**I don't know when Pietro will come into this story, maybe next chapter. Tata!**

**--Masquerade Madness**


	2. Why is She Here?

**Why is She Here?!**

"...And here is the dining room, we probably spend most of our time here, well, besides the Danger Room..." Jean trailed on and off as she showed Crystal around the institute. So far, Crystal had been polite and nice throughout the whole tour. _I don't see what Scott's so paranoid about. She's probably the politest person I've met, well, next to the Professor, of course._ Jean thought while she glanced at Crystal, who was currently looking around the dining room, a look of awe on her face.

Jean had heard what Scott said through her telepathy. His thoughts made her frown deeply. He had to realize that non-mutant supporters said the very same thing about them, right? _Why is he being such a hypocrite? _She thought, her anger flaring a bit. However, she was brought out of her bad mood when she saw what Crystal was doing.

Currently, the Inhuman girl was amused by a blender that was on the table. She was pressing buttons to see the different reactions, and sometimes jumped when the reaction changed a lot. "Jean, what do you call this machine? I've never seen anything like it." Crystal asked, pulling herself away from the blender. Jean chuckled as Crystal rejoined her. "It's a blender, it's used to mix up foods. We mainly use it to make drinks, though." Crystal nodded, amazed at the simple, yet complex human technology.

At that same moment, Kitty had walked into the room through the wall near Crystal and Jean. Bumping into Crystal after walking in, Kitty's glass of water dropped. It was as if it were falling in slow motion, the water slowly made it's way out of the cup, both falling slowly. All three of the girls gasped. Immediately, Crystal aimed her hands at the water, and Jean did the same with the cup. Both water and cup were floating separately in the air, away from the ground.

"Oh my god, you guys, that like totally freaked me out for a moment. Thanks!" Kitty sighed in relief as Crystal put the water in the cup and Jean gave the cup to Kitty. Kurt, who had popped into the room during the falling of the cup, hung down from the light by his tail, now in his regular form. "That was so cool, Crystal!" He said, making his appearance known.

All three girls turned to Kurt, surprised by his outburst. "Thanks." She smiled at him, despite what she was thinking. _And I thought he was the only normal one here. Guess I was wrong._

Sighing, Jean rubbed her temples. "Come on, Crystal, I need to show you our room." And with that the two where out of the dining room, leaving Kurt and Kitty alone.

"Mission: Learn about Crystal's power, success!" They high-fived before walking into the entertainment room.

*** * ***

When morning came, there was a pair of clothes on Crystal's bed, along with a black backpack. She looked at them surprised. Did Jean put them here when Crystal was showering? Shrugging, Crystal picked up the shirt. It was yellow with sleeves that would probably go past her elbows a bit. Then she looked at the black skirt. It was a bit short, but not one of those trashy human skirts that barely cover the 'vital regions.'

Nodding in approval, she changed into the clothes, eyeing herself in the mirror. This would have to do for now.

Stepping out of her and Jean's room, Crystal found herself in a maze of hallways. Sure, Jean gave her a tour of the institute, but Crystal could only think of a way to get back to her home, or at least tell the other Inhumans that she was safe. Glancing to her left and right, she couldn't remember which way the stairs were. _Great, I'm lost. Is this what I get for having Lockjaw transport me everywhere?_

Hearing a door open, then close, Crystal looked towards the sound. Out came Rogue, as Crystal struggled to remember her name. _Was it Rachael? No, too cliche... Rouge? No, that's human cosmetics...What was it again...? Rogue! That's it. _Crystal called after the southern belle before walking over to her. Hearing her name being called, Rogue turned around to find Crystal. "Oh, hey Crystal." Rogue said as the Inhuman girl caught up to her.

"I was wondering if you can lead me downstairs, I'm kinda lost." She shrugged as Rogue smirked a little before nodding. "Don't worry, I was lost my first few days here, too."

And with that, the two girls ventured downstairs to the dining room.

As soon as they walked in, all heads turned to them. Crystal recognized the people from yesterday, but there were others that she didn't know. Spotting a free seat next to Scott, she sat down. He glared at her for a moment before she realized it.

"So Crystal, how did you sleep?" Professor Xavier asked her while she got some eggs and bacon. Swallowing, she smiled at him. "Pretty good." She lied through her teeth. All night, Crystal was tossing and turning, yesterday's incident replaying in her mind over and over. Hopefully, nobody noticed.

Jean took this as her chance to get to know the girl. Last night, they only got to tour the institute, so they really didn't have time to talk. Well, they did, but Jean thought it wasn't the right time. She could hear the thoughts of other students as they also wondered about the new girl, so Jean thought she ought to break out and reach her. Somebody had to do it, so why not Jean? She had to make it look casual, though.

After taking a sip of her milk, Jean looked at Crystal with curious eyes. "Are we the first non-Inhumans you've met?" Crystal, to say the least, was surprised. She quickly shook her head as she swallowed her bacon. "I've met the Fantastic Four and someone else before." Crystal admitted, not sure where this conversation was going. Then a boy of at least fifteen perked up and looked at Crystal, amazed. "You know the Fantastic Four?! That's awesome!"

Crystal laughed nervously, turning to the boy. "Yeah, it's a long story. They were the first humans I met, but that was years ago. I think I was around 13 when I met them." She explained to the boy she learned was Bobby.

Other students were beginning to leave for school, and Jean gestured for Crystal to come with her. "We have to get your schedule."

*** * ***

It was one of those rare days that the Brotherhood went to school......and actually attended their classes. _All_ of their classes.

Lance came to see Kitty and plan a date with her. Though, he said he came to steal some nerd's lunch money. The others didn't buy it.

Toad came to "check out the ladies, from far away of course." It was known as stalking in the Brotherhood house.

Blob came to school to see if their was anything good for lunch, which, for Blob, there always was.

Lastly, Pietro only came to school to get his frustrations out on a certain X-Men leader. Last night had not been a fun night for Quicksilver.

After hours of tossing and turning, he finally got to sleep, but that sleep was not peaceful. He kept having a dream- no, not a dream! It was a memory. The memory of the only time in his life where he, Pietro Maximoff, was truly happy. Sure, he was happy with Wanda when they were small, before she got sent away, but their father was Magneto, public enemy number one. _Some childhood I had._

Currently, our favorite villains, if we could call them that, were hanging out near Lance's locker, just talking about random things. The subject of kicking Scott Summers' ass came up quite a few times, though, but they moved on to a different, more interesting topic. A new student. A new _girl_ student.

"Yo, I saw this new chick in the office earlier. Damn, she's fine." Toad said dreamily, picturing his new stalkee in a nurse's outfit, giving him a sponge-bath. Yes, the only time Toad would take a bath was if there was pretty nurse with a sponge with him.

Lance scoffed at him, disgusted. "If you think she's hot, then she must be ugly." He sneered, taking his science book out of his locker. Toad never had the best taste in women, he had clung to Tabitha, aka Boom-Boom, for the week that she was at the Brotherhood House. Sure, he thought she was pretty, but she was also a kleptomaniac with a thing for explosives. Not fun.

Blob nodded, agreeing with Toad. "I saw her, too. She was pretty." Lance then shot another comment back, thus starting a fight between three of the four Brotherhood boys. Pietro had stayed quiet during the arguement, even if Lance tried to bring him into it. He would simply say something like "I haven't seen her," or "How the hell should I know."

During this argument, Kitty, who's locker was right near Lance's, walked through the boys, causing Toad to squirm and mumble, "That's disgustin', yo!" Kitty rolled her eyes, retorting back with "Look who's talking." Lance stopped arguing with Blob and Toad, and somehow made his way next to Kitty.

"Sorry about that. We were just fighting about the new girl. I think she's ugly, but those two idiots think she's pretty." He explained to Kitty, running his fingers through his bangs. Girls tended to melt when he did that, but Kitty wasn't fazed.

Actually, she had a look of anger on her face. "Lance! Weren't you listening to me last night on the phone!?" Kitty exclaimed, quite mad at the fact that her boyfriend -although they never actually figured out the terms and status of their relationship, she liked to think of him as that, if nothing else,- wasn't listening to her.

Surprised by her sudden anger, Lance took a step back, Toad and Blob cowering behind him. Pietro, on the other hand, perked up a bit. Was Little Miss Sunshine finally going to dump Lance?

"I told you last night that we had a new girl at the Institute! And I also said that she was very pretty! God, like, why don't you ever listen to me!?" She yelled, her anger finally boiling. It wasn't that Lance hadn't listened to these details, she didn't want him leaving her for the new girl, but the fact that Lance just 'uh huh'd' and 'mhm'd' in all the right places during their conversations started to make her mad.

Lance, on the other hand, was trying to explain to Kitty, saying that the guys where bugging him during their phone call. Kitty sighed, there was no point on continuing this fight. "She's really nice, but Scott hates her for some reason. He, like, said she was a spy or something." She shrugged as she and Lance walked to class, the other members of the Brotherhood following them. "Now we really gotta kick his ass!" Blob said as he and Toad high fived.

Kitty turned around, staring wide eyed at the boys. "What?" Pietro sighed, finally stepping in. "We planned on beating up Summers today at lunch." He explained while shrugging, as if it were no big deal. To the Brotherhood, it wasn't, but when Kitty blabbed about plans like these, the X-Men thought it was war or something.

For the first time, Kitty was okay with it. "He totally deserves it. You should have heard the things he said about Crystal. Scott was a total hypocrite." She told them as she and Lance walked into their science class and Blob and Toad went off to English.

_Crystal? She couldn't be my Crystal. She's in Attilan with her family, and she hates the city. Just a coincidence. Yes, a total coincidence. _Pietro's thoughts raced as he walked into the gym for PE.

*** * ***

Finally lunch time had come, and Pietro was finally gonna take his anger out on Scott. He had come from home economics, a class he didn't want to take, but found it easy. Today, the girls were gossiping about a new student, and Pietro finally wanted to check it out. He had two classes left for today, seeing as he had an open period last, and so far, no new chick in his classes.

As he was sprinting to his locker, a blur of strawberry blond, yellow, and black caught his eyes. Skidding to a stop, Pietro slid down the hall and ended up crashing into an opening door, grabbing the attention of the girl, and the people who opened the door, who just laughed at him and continued on their way.

Crystal looked down at Pietro, who was groaning at getting up, oblivious to her. "Are you okay? You seemed to crash pretty hard there, Pietro." She said, worry and care dripping from her voice.

Even from upside down, she was as beautiful as ever. It's been over a year since he last saw her, and during that time, Crystal had grew up and matured, but managed to keep her innocence.

"Crystal...it's you. Why are you here?" He asked her when he was up on his feet again. She smiled at him, and offered him her hand. Pietro took it, but hesitated for a moment. The minute he took her hand he forgot about his plans with Scott.

"Come get lunch with me and I'll explain, it's a long story."

*** * ***

"So your sister went missing, again, and you got left behind, and the X-Geeks found you?" Pietro said once Crystal, who was looking sadly at her feet, finished telling him about yesterday. She nodded before looking up at him. "I also don't have anyway to contact the others."

Pietro looked at her before putting his hand on her shoulder. "Crys, don't be sad." He told her, not sure of what to say. He was never good with this stuff.

She looked up and smiled at him. "Thanks, Pietro!"

* * *

**Huzzah! Chapter 2 is out! It's twice as long as Chapter 1! Pietro is in chapter 2! And Crystal and Pietro meet...again! :D Also, the majority of the cast are sixteen, Jean and Scott are seventeen, Kitty is fifteen, and the new X-Men from season two are fourteen-sixteen.**

**For those of you who don't what Crystal looks like, here are some links::**

**Normal, non-teenager Crystal- .com/albums/ee132/JudgeMagister/Crystal_**

**And Evolution Crystal- .com/art/Evolution-Crystal-17738069**

**Please note that I didn't make these pictures. They belong to their respected creators. I would like some reviews, since only one person reviewed while I had like...a lot of favorites and alerts.**


	3. Her Hair's a Demon!

**Her Hair's a Demon!**

That same afternoon, Scott pouted while sipping his milk at the table where he and the others, consisting of Jean, Kurt, Rogue, and Evan, sat. Currently, he was glaring at a certain couple. Yes, it was Pietro and Crystal.

"How the hell did she meet him, of all people? I don't see why she's with him. Doesn't she know how hurt she's going to get?" He asked the others during lunch that day. Scott's opinion still hadn't changed about Crystal, even though she basically saved him from getting beat up.

Jean rolled her eyes. "I thought you hated Crystal, Scott." Scott was shocked when he heard this. He told the others not to tell Jean about that.

He stuttered, confused. "W-w-what gave you t-th-that i-idea?" The others laughed at his nervousness. It was as if he were asking her out, if he ever built up the courage to do so. She scoffed at him before talking into his mind, _I'm a telepath, remember._

After muttering an 'oh,' Scott turned and continues drinking his milk, still pouting.

As Kitty, Lance, Fred, and Todd were walking over to the Brotherhood's usual table, they saw Pietro with a girl. Not just any girl, though.

"Yo' Pietro! You scored the new girl, dawg! Way to go!" Todd exclaimed to Pietro as they reached the table. Offended, Crystal and Kitty made sounds of disgust before Crystal made the water from Lance's open water bottle pour onto Todd. Everyone gasped before breaking into laughter. "Don't feel bad, Toad, you needed a shower!" Lance, Pietro, and Fred laughed as Kitty went over and sat next to Crystal. "Hey, when did you meet Pietro?"

Crystal put her finger to her chin, as if thinking. "Hm...I think it was almost two years ago. He had a broken arm when I met him, so I took him back to Attilan for healing for a couple of days." She told her as the boys finally calmed down.

Lance, as if remembering something important, spoke up, "Was that when we went camping and you disappeared after getting into a fight with some jerks?"

Pietro nodded, rubbing the back of his head. "Yeah, it was. Crystal found me there in the woods, so she took me back to her home via Lockjaw."

"What's a Lockjaw?" Fred asked, causing both Pietro and Crystal to laugh. "Lockjaw's my puppy, he has the ability to transport." Pietro scoffed at the word 'puppy,' rolling his eyes. "The day that thing would be considered a puppy is when Medusa's hair is a demon." He mumbled, looking away from the group. Doing so, however, caused him to meet the eyes, well, shades, of Scott.

Frowning, Pietro turned back to his group as Kitty was getting up. "Lance, I gotta go. Scott looks totally mad. See ya later, Crystal." She said, taking the remainderof her lunch with her to the 'X-Table.' Lance sat back and sighed. He hated it when Kitty up and left like that. Especially if it were for the X-Geeks.

Todd looked confused, as did Fred. "Yo, who the hell's hair is a demon?"

Crystal twitched, as she did not hear Pietro's little comment. Then, all of the sudden she threw her hair into Pietro's face, yelling, "My hair's a demon!" He shrieked in surprise, an annoyed look on his face.

He was expecting Crystal to explode with fire coming out of her hands, rocks flying at them, etc. This was shocking.

_She has definitely loosened up a bit since the last time we met. I like it._ He thought, eyeing her laughing form.

The other three boys were shocked as well, but they recovered from it and laughed withCrystal. "Dude, that was awesome!" Lance told her, fist punching with her. "Dawg, you got him good." Todd said while laughing at Pietro. "Did you see his face?" Fred laughed out, pointing at Pietro's still shocked face.

She thanked them before getting up. "It was nice seeing you again, Pietro. I hope we can do this again soon." Crystal smiled before grabbing her stuff and going in the same direction that Kitty went.

Pietro sighed dreamily, leaning back in his chair. "So, what did you think of her?" He asked his friends suddenly.

He was anxious about what they thought of Crystal. _What if they think she's too Goody-Goody? What if they want her for themselves? What if they think she's ugly? _That last thought made him gasp out loud, causing the other three boys, who were currently throwing little pieces of bread at each other, to stop their shenanigans, before shrugging, seeing as Pietro was in his own little word, and continuing the mini food fight.

* * *

**Meanwhile...**

"Kitty, what the hell was that! Why were you eating with _them_!" Scott snapped when Kitty joined them. He had been pouting all through lunch, especially when he noticed Crystal actually having fun with the Brotherhood. Kitty scoffed at Scott, ignoring his questions. "So, you guys, you know how Crystal said she knew another human besides us and the Fantastic Four? Well, apparently it was Pietro, and he, like, broke his arm and she took care of him and they, like, went out two years ago."

The others nodded, listening intently before Crystal made her way over to them. When they noticed her, Kitty stopped her gossiping and started on a new subject. As Crystal walked towards the table where the X-Men where currently seated, Scott glared at her. Before she noticed it, though, Jean sent Scott her own glare, along with a few telepathic words.

"Hi, you guys." She said, sitting inbetween Scott and Kurt, earning a glare from Scott. He didn't know what ticked him off about the new girl. Everyone simply adored her like she was a puppy or something like that. Thinking like this was wrong, so wrong. Scott knew that at least. He didn't trust her.

Something was different about her. She wasn't even human! Her alien race could be plotting to destroy the human and mutant races. Or worse, she could be plotting with the Brotherhood! That made Scott's blood run cold.

_I know it's wrong, but I can't help it._

* * *

**A/N:: Hey guys! Sorry I haven't updated this in like ever. I've had writer's block, and I'm grounded from the computer all summer. And this chapter's short. Ugh. I'll try to write more chapters later by hand. Oh, and I see the stats page, so review. Kthnxbai.**


	4. Science Fiction Double Feature

**Science Fiction Double Feature**

One week and one day. It's been eight days since Crystal lost her family. Maximus took Medusa away from her once again, and she was seperated from the other Inhumans.

One week. It's been seven days since Crystal has been living at Xavier's Institute. They found her somwhere and took her back to the mansion. She managed to make friends with most of the not-human humans there.

Six days. It's been six days since Crystal found Pietro again. That was completely by chance. How was she supposed to know that he lived in Bayville now?

Five days. It's been five days since Pietro asked her out on a date, a kind of human mating ritual. Over all, this past week could have been worse. She could be in the city with the Fantastic Four.

* * *

"Crystal, what are you going to wear? Do you even know where he's taking you? I swear, if Pietro takes you to a monster truck rally like Lance did with me..." Kitty rambled as she looked through her closet, trying to find something that Crystal could borrow for her date later that evening. Rouge was digging through Kitty's make-up collection to see what she should do with Crystal. Crystal, who sat on Kitty's bed, was confused to say the least. She doesn't recall going out on a 'date' before. She does recall Johnny Storm talking about a date before, but he didn't take her anywhere special or romantic.

Crystal shrugged. "I don't know what humans even do on dates. I just know that two people go out to a place." She told Kitty as she eyed the pile of clothes on the floor. Just then, there was a knock on the door and Jean stuck her head in.

"Hey, sorry I'm late. Scott wanted to get some Danger Room pratice in." Jean said as she came in and shut the door telepathically. "Kitty, are you okay? What's with that look?" She asked Kitty, who was frozen to the spot, her mouth hanging open. Crystal sighed. Were people going to be like this everytime Crystal said she didn't know what humans did for certain things?

"I d-don't t-th-think Crystal's been out on a-a d-date before." Kitty stuttered, shocked. Rogue rolled her eyes and Jean laughed; Kitty could be so superficial sometimes. "What's the big deal about these dates, anyways?" Crystal said before flopping back on Kitty's bed.

Kitty gasped; dates were a big deal. Especially if it was with one of the Brotherhood boys. "Well, dates are way to show someone you like them. They're romantic, special, and fun. A monster truck rally is so not fun..." She trailed off, so Jean continued.

"Dates help two friends become more than friends. If two people have fun on their dates, then they eventually become boyfriend and girlfriend. And if a boyfriend and girlfriend love eachother, they might get married when both are ready." Jean explained, as if she was reading from a website about How-To-Date.

"Back on Attalin, people just get married. No dates, no boyfriend and girlfriends. Just married..." This reminded her of Black Bolt's and Medusa's wedding a few years back. It was a nice event, and the two really did love eachother. Would she ever have something like that? Or would it be more human?

"Now what about you're hair?" Kitty said after picking out a nice dress and pair of shoes.

**Meanwhile...**  
During Kitty's, Jean's, and Crystals shenagins, the Brotherhood boys had something worked up for Pietro. They too were going through his clothes. They didn't need to know the top secret location to judge his wardrobe. Pietro was forced to try on every outfit possible in his closet. His normal brown shirt and jeans weren't going to cut it.

Currently, he was trying on his one and only suit. "No way, man. Way too formal." Lance said, a clipboard and notebook on his lap. He scribbled something on the notebook. Toad shook his head. "You ain't gettin' laid with that." His comment was discarded by Lance, he said the same thing everytime. Fred rubbed his chin. "It's nice, but a pain to get stains out of." Lance sent Pietro back before scribbling down more comments.

This continued until Pietro repeated an outfit. Lance got so mad that the ceiling fan fell off...again. "God damnit, Pietro! We're being nice to you! Giving you suggestions on the perfect date with Crystal! And then, you go and do this to us! Just wear whatever you want now!" And with that Lance stormed out of the living room and onto the front porch.

Pietro eyed him curiously. "What's up with him? It's not like it's _his_ reputation on the line." Pietro muttered, flopping on the couch, reading Lance's notes. He expected to see a dirty sketch of Kitty or something, but they were legit notes on his outfit. _Wow._

Fred shrugged while opening a soda. "He's probably making sure you don't take her to a monster truck rally." He laughed as Lance walked back in, calmer than before.

"If we are going to do this, we're going to do this right!" Lance said before marching his way up to Pietro's room. He soon came back with several articles of clothing in hand. _This will do just fine_, he thought before shoving them into Pietro's arms. "Wear that." Lance flopped down onto the couch, turned the TV on, and acted like nothing ever happened.

Pietro stared at the clothes. A black button down shirt and a pair of jeans, which were nicer than his usual pair. "Wear Converse with them." That was the last thing Lance ever said on the matter of outfits.

**Later that evening...  
**"What the hell are you doing here?" Logan said to the boy standing the front porch of the Xavier Mansion. It wasn't a suprise to see a Brotherhood boy around, those pranksters, but one all dressed up with flowers? That was new. Not even Lance dressed up for his dates with Kitty, much to her despair.

"I'm here to see Crystal." Pietro said to Logan, trying to be polite as possible. Logan gave him a suspicous look as Jean came down the stairs. "Jean, is it true that this joker is taking Crystal out?" Logan groaned, clearly annoyed, at the possible prank.

Jean laughed before opening the door all the way. "Believe it or not, he is. You clean up nice, Pietro." Pietro nodded awkwardly; he wasn't used to being in here without anyone noticing. The red haired telepath tried making some small talk, but all she got were simple, one-worded sentences. It was awkward to say the least. "Listen...Jean, is Crystal ready...Wow..."

As if on cue, Crystal came down the stairs in a white sundress and aquamarine flats. Her hair was wavy and most of it in a ponytail in the back. It didn't look like she had make up on, but Pietro was never one to tell if a girl was going natural or subtle. If any other Brotherhood members were here, they'd say she looked hot, but to him, she was beautiful. "Wow..." He repeated, unable to form coherant sentences.

"I seem to remember that you had more speaking abilities than that, Pietro." Crystal said as she got downstairs.

Without saying anything, he grabbed her by the hand and led her outside to his car. He opened the door for her, ancipation running through him as she slowly- or what he thought was slowly- got into the car. After getting her situated, he got himself in and started the car.

The drive was quiet, save for Crystal's amazed noises from seeing Bayville at it's whole. He liked that she was easily amused by the things he took for granted. "Pietro, where are we?" Torn from his train of though, he looked at Crystal, then back to his dashboard. Pietro hadn't noticed that he had already parked the car.

"We're seeing a Science Fiction Double Feature, but I thought you'd might want to eat something first. Or something..." He told her, getting them both out of his old Honda. They were in a plaza of some sort. Many shopping stores and restraunts surrounded the little forum. She had no idea what he meant, but she was kind of hungry.

After dinner at a small diner, the two made their way to an old movie theater. Tonight's specials: The Rocky Horror Picture Show for two dollars each. Pietro paid for both of them and led her into the showroom.

Crystal noticed that most of the people there where dressed up in weird costumes. "Humans are so strange..." She mumbled before sitting down next to Pietro in the middle row. The room got black and then the reddest lips she'd ever seen appeared on screen. "_Michael Rennie was ill the day the earth stood still._"

She couldn't believe it. Pietro knew all of the songs in this insane movie. He even knew the little dance that went along with it. Pietro had grabbed Crystal's hand and made her do it with him. People in the theatre were throughing items and food all over place. _Kitty said that these places were quiet. _"Don't tell _anyone_ about this. You're the only one besides my sister who knows about my thing for Rocky Horror."

"It'll be our little secret."

* * *

When Crystal got back, it was around 11:30 PM. The main group was waiting in the living room in their pajamas, obivously for Crystal. "Hi guys, isn't a little late?" They stared at here as she came in and sat with them. "We were about to ask you the same thing." Kurt said.

"How did it go?" Kitty asked, getting right to the point.

Crystal got up and headed upstairs. "I don't kiss and tell."

* * *

**A/N:: Hey guys! I'm back-ish. I'm sorry that I haven't updated this in forever, but this idea came to me, and I had to update. Uh! Run-on sentence! D: I'm gonna be updating a lot more now, but I need you guys to review first. Please? They'll go on more dates. **

**And yes, Pietro loves Rocky Horror.**


	5. The Way It Hurts

**The Way It Hurts**

Boom!

"What the hell's your problem, Summers!" She went off like a bomb.

"_My_ problem? I'm not the one with a problem here, Crystal!" It triggered a domino effect, apparently.

"What are you talking about? I don't have a problem. You do. Ever since I first came here, you've been nothing but an arrogant, ignorant, and …and ass faced jerk! I have no idea what I did to piss you off, but drop it!" She scoffed and snapped at him; he was the straw that broke her back.

She, too, broke his back.

"What pisses me off about you is that you're sloppy and selfish when it comes to teamwork!" He yelled, fed up with Crystal's distraction- whatever it may have been.

Their fight seemed so unexpected to the innocent -and seemingly invisible- bystanders.

What could have caused such an eruption?

What could make a seemingly calm, happy-go-lucky, and somewhat naïve girl to go off like that?

That same calm, happy-go-lucky, and naïve girl stormed out at that moment.

**24 Hours Ago…  
**"Please tell me this is a transducer machine room." Crystal mumbled as Professor Xavier led her into a circular, metal room.

Professor Xavier chuckled at her reference. "I was never a fan of that movie, but no, this is not a transducer machine."

He led her down a catwalk that stopped in the center of the room, where a rounded alter held a device with a helmet.

The room seemed bottomless; Crystal realized this as she peaked of the edge.

"So, what is this place, Professor?" She asked.

"This is Cerebro. With it, I can track down people with the X-Gene," Xavier explained.

Crystal lit up instantly. It seemed luck was on her side for once!" You think your brain machine can track Inhumans?"

Maybe she could finally go home. Maybe she could bring Lockjaw here. No more gross cars…

The professor broke her train of thoughts with some dampening news.

"I'm not sure, Crystal. I haven't tried it on mutates like the Fantastic Four, but it is worth a try." He put on the strange looking helmet, and then turned to Crystal.

"It is very important that you stay quiet and still while I use Cerebro."

Crystal nodded. Her cousins and sister always told her to be quiet, not to touch anything, and hold still, etc. whenever they went to the lab.

The professor got started.

Countless white dots appeared on the metal tiles. Quite a few of the dots turned red, and the remaining white dots disappeared.

The red dots turned into faces with a red tint. They quickly shuffled through like roulette.

None of them looked like Inhumans.

Suddenly, they all disappeared as the professor took off the helmet.

He looked tired and a bit worn out. Xavier shook his head while giving Crystal a sorry look.

Trying to hide her disappointment, Crystal slowly nodded as they headed out of the Cerebro room.

It then occurred to her. "How did you find me?"

Professor Xavier was surprised by her question. "Well, Logan found you, passed out, a few miles away from New York City near an old gas station. It was a complete coincidence, but a lucky one."

Tick.

Ever since her meeting with the Professor, Crystal had been on a short fuse.

Little thing were able to bug her easier than before.

During dinner, that same night, she would slam her utensils and glass down onto the table. The chatter was getting on her nerves, and it was giving her a headache.

Her hair nearly got ripped out as she angrily brushed it. She told Jean that her hair got knotted after showers. Good thing Jean didn't pry.

School brought up the most annoyances and frustrations.

First her locker didn't want to open. Time and time again, she would try her combination. It just wouldn't work.

Finally, Lance came to her rescue. All he did was hit the top of it with his fist and it popped open. He rested his arm against the locker next to her. "'Sup?"

Crystal mumbled a 'thanks' as she put her backpack in her locker and grabbed a binder that she needed for her elective classes. "Nothing; nothing at all."

Lance sighed and shook his head at her as she used her wind powers to close her locker. "Bad day, Crys?"

She groaned as they headed toward the patio for break. "You have no…idea…" She trailed off as they rounded the corner. What she saw made alien feelings inside of her swell up.

A large group of girls gathered around a single boy, who was chatting with each girl quickly. They all giggled when he ran a hand through his silver hair.

Tick.

Crystal simply stared at him as he flirted with the girls. Time stood still for her.

Lance noticed the harem, and he also stared, mouth wide open. "Come on, Crys, let's go," He said in vain. Neither of them could move.

It wasn't until Pietro looked at her did time sped up.

Pietro and Crystal stared at each other. The other girls tried to get his attention. They soon went away when all they got from Pietro were "uh-huh's" and "sure's."

Time was slower than usual for Pietro as he and Crystal had their stare down. The look of confusion, hurt, and anger on her face made him want to kick himself.

She broke their staring contest by shaking her head before walking away. Her blonde and black hair swayed and bounced, and her high tops squeaked against the tile floor of Bayville High.

In a flash, Pietro was next to Lance, both of them watching Crystal walk away angrily. "How much did you see?"

Lance knew that when Pietro said "you," he really meant Crystal. "Twenty giggles before the hair hand. And, what the hell are you smoking, you idiot!" He punched Pietro in the arm before heading to his chemistry class.

Pietro caught up with Crystal in a second. "Hey, Crystal. Going to class?"

"No," She responded while keeping her eyes in front of her.

He tried to look into her eyes, but she kept looking ahead. "That doesn't seem like you."

She didn't seemed fazed. "Then I guess you don't know me as well as you thought you did."

Pietro moved in front of Crystal, walking backwards. He kept trying to look her in the eyes as they walked out of the school. She kept looking away from him.

Knowing she wouldn't budge, he sighed in defeat. "What do you want me to say, Crystal? Do you want to hear 'it wasn't what it looked like' or something?"

At last, he got a legitimate response from her; an annoyed groan and eye roll.

"Beat it, Maximoff." Crystal growled at him, trying to push past him. She was able to avoid him long enough to walk away.

As she was walking down the front steps, she heard Pietro's las plea.

"I'm not gonna lie to you, Crys. It was what it looked like. I don't care about those girls like I do for you. It meant nothing to me." He confessed to her.

Before walking away, she looked at him from over her shoulder. "Screw you."

And with that, she walked away, leaving a dumb struck Pietro on the school's steps.

Tick.

When Crystal got back to school at lunch, she could feel the eyes of Jean Grey on her as she approached the X-table.

"Are you okay, Crystal? I didn't see you in home-ec." Jean asked as Crystal sat down.

"Yeah, I didn't see you in Ceramics, either." Bobby pointed out.

Crystal debated if she should tell them about her ditching. She decided against it. Jean and Scott would chew her ears off if she told them.

Faking a smile and laugh, she waved them off. "Oh, that. Yeah, I'm fine. I was doing math and science homework in the library." That was a decent enough lie. "Human science and shapes are so confusing."

Now Crystal was lying through her teeth. The Inhumans were ages ahead of the humans when it came to math and science, so it came very easy for her. The others didn't know that, though. Black Bolt had told her not to reveal too much to humans; it was better not to attract attention.

Jean began to gather her stuff as she got up. She mumbled something about 'meeting Duncan' before hurrying away. A few others gathered their things, too.

Before they left, Scott reminded them, "Remember, we have Danger Room practice today."

From across the quad, they all heard Kitty shriek.

"Like, what were you thinking, you jerk!" She screamed before dumping her soda over Pietro's head.

Everyone laughed at the scene, and normally, Crystal would feel bad, but not after what happened earlier.

As Kitty stormed towards them, they could hear Pietro shout back. "Great advice, Kitty!"

Kitty was just about to start her rant until she saw Crystal. "That jerk says that geometry is lame."

Tick.

By the time four PM came by, Crystal was exhausted. The Professor had given her a mini lecture about ditching before letting her go to the Danger Room.

She hobbled into the Danger Room, tying the laced to her knee-high boots.

"You're late." Logan grunted as Crystal stood up straight with the others.

Trying to hide her frustration, Crystal sighed and said, "I know. Sorry."

Logan had them work on teamwork. One person would go through a tunnel-like maze, and each hallway would have an obstacle and student. The goal was to work with everyone.

The person in the first hallway would go after the first person, who then made their way to the end. Everyone would then move closer to the front. The halls would change each time.

Scott went first, and when he got to the fifth hallway, Crystal's hallway, they got into a pinch.

He had to go through a lot of quicksand, with Crystal's help, to get to the end of the hall. Scott would then blast the pool of quicksand while Crystal used her earth powers to clear a path. It didn't work. It took about ten minutes to get him through.

Before she knew it, it was Crystal's turn to go through the maze. The halls were intense, but with the others, it was easier. Then there was Scott's hall.

He was stationed with a holographic Storm, who blocked their way.

They didn't get too far.

While Crystal used her wind to try to knock Storm over, Scott's blast accidently hit her in the side.

Boom!

"What the hell's your problem, Summers!" She shouted as she got up. She didn't need him blasting her.

He seemed aghast by her accusation. "_My_ problem? I'm not the one with a problem here, Crystal!" He snapped back at her.

Crystal thought back to her first day of school. She heard Scott rambling about her and Pietro, but brushed it off.

Kitty mentioned something in her fast talking about Scott not trusting Crystal, but again, she brushed it off.

This time, though, she called him out on it.

During her small rant, the others found the source of the screaming and had gathered up at the west wall, just watching.

The two kept arguing.

Jean could hear the wandering thoughts. To them, this was sudden, but she had noticed Crystal's frustrations.

Before anyone knew it, Crystal had stormed out of the hallway and out of the Danger Room.

On her way upstairs, she ran into a few others, who didn't have practice. She didn't stop to chat, though. Crystal was only focused on getting the hell of the mansion.

It was sunset by the time Crystal made her way out. She avoided the town and stuck to the backstreets and alleys of Bayville, yet she didn't pay attention to wear she was going.

Crystal guessed she wandered for about an hour before finding herself in the playground of the park.

Families and friends were leaving as it got dark; a few of them gave her weird looks. It wasn't normal to wear a yellow and black, almost spandex, jumpsuit. Crystal ignored them.

She sat down on a large, red, plastic tire swing that was held on its side. Sighing, she realized she didn't know the way back to the mansion.

Then, Crystal remembered what Jubilee told her during her first Danger Room session: keep your cell phone in your boots, bra, or belt.

Crystal reached into her left boot and pulled out her phone.

Flipping through the phonebook, she pondered on who she could call. She then found the right name.

Ring…ring… "Hey- "

"Hey, can you come get me?"

* * *

**Author's Note:** Hello, my lovely readers! I'm kinda back. This is a long one. You're welcome. This chapter and the next one where orginally one big super chapter. I didn't want to type that all in one sitting.

Oh ho ho, so Crystal's showing some negitive qualities! It's about time! And Pietro, tsk tsk tsk. You gotta do the Bieber flip. This was not planned for V-Day, but OHWELL! :D I see you and your story alerts, so why not review while you are here? I may not update often, but I do read my emails!


	6. The Way You Lie

**The Way You Lie**

Pietro groaned as he flopped onto the couch. He thought the day he would feel exhausted after school and some shenanigans would be the day Blob would be an underwear model. Physically, he felt fine, but mentally, he was a wreck.

The fight he and Crystal had was so…bizarre. Pietro knew he deserved it; flirting with ten girls all at once was a douche move. What confused him was the way Crystal blew up. It was out of character for the Crystal he knew. _Whatever._ He thought with an eye roll. All this thinking was wearing him out.

"You know, robbing a pizza place was the smartest thing we've ever done," Blob said, bringing Pietro out from his thoughts.

Toad said something, but his mouth was too full of anchovy pizza. "Mmphf bishda nmh, bro."

Pietro gagged as he ran and grabbed the box of pepperoni and sausage. "Dude, close your mouth. We don't need your sewage breath all over the house."

Tabitha laughed and fanned the air in front of her. "Too late for that, Speedy."

Lance high-fived her as he grabbed a soda. It exploded in his face and everyone laughed. Just another evening in the Brotherhood house. Pietro turned on the TV and flipped through everything twice. He settled for Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

"What the hell, Speedy? I hate this show?" Tabitha complained, standing with her hands on her hips. She started a rant on why Buffy was so stupid.

Lance quaked and she fell over. "Shut up. This chick's more bad ass than you'll ever be. She was kicked out of L.A. for burning down her school!"

The whole house began shouting. It got off-topic to the point where they were arguing about Tabitha's constant pranks and Toad's stench. _Buzz. Buzz. _All five of them went silent, but not for too long.

"Toad, you're bringing in flies again!" Blob pushed Toad to the stairs, who bounced back off the banister.

"Nah, it's just my phone." Lance told them as he answered, before another fight broke out among them all.

Everything went quiet again as they listened to Lance's conversation.

"Hey-," He paused, still in midsentence.

"Um…sure, where are you?" He asked the caller, sounding somewhat concerned.

"Wait so where in-," He paused again.

"Slow down. I'll come get you, but just hang tight. Calm down." He reassured the caller, moving his hand as if he was telling a dog to stay.

"Okay, just stay where you are and calm down. See you in ten." And with that last reassuring note, Lance hung up. He sighed before getting his leather jacket from the coat rack.

Everyone looked at him curiously. They all wanted to know who he was getting, but they guessed it was Kitty. The main question was why.

"So, why are you getting Kitty?" Tabitha snooped.

"And where, man?" Toad added.

Lance shook his head. "Not getting Kitty."

The other Brotherhood members exchanged looks. "Then who?" They asked in unison.

"I'm getting Crystal." Lance said nonchalantly while looking for the keys to his Jeep.

Pietro nearly choked on his pizza. "Wait, who?" He sputtered out.

Lance stopped looking for his keys. "Yes, Crystal. You know her: blonde and black hair, kinda weird at times. A good weird." He said slowly, as if talking to a two-year-old.

"_My _Crystal?" Pietro said, not believing what he was hearing. Why did Crystal call Lance, of all people? Didn't he know the bro-code?

Lance laughed bitterly. "Not from what I saw today. She obviously doesn't want to see you. She called _me_." He bragged, gesturing to himself.

Pietro lost it. In a flash, Lance had a red mark on his jaw. He put his jaw back into place as he rubbed it. "Nice." He mumbled before smirking. His plan had worked out perfectly. When Lance found his keys, he threw them to Pietro, instead of leaving. "Go get her. You obviously like her. Don't screw me over! She's at the playground in Bayville Park."

For a moment, Pietro was confused. Was Lance just pissing him off to see if Pietro truly liked Crystal? A second later, the keys were on the coffee table and Pietro was gone.

Crystal was sitting on a swing, looking around anxiously, when Pietro found her. Pietro rubbed his hands on his thighs. What was he going to say to her? _Oh, Lance had to wash his hair._ He thought sarcasticly before running to the swing next to her. He cleared his throat and asked, "Mind if I sit here?"

Crystal looked up, and he could see the tears in her eyes. At first, Pietro thought she would be angry, but to his surprise, she shrugged. "What happened?" Pietro asked as he sat down next to her.

A small sob escaped her as she shook her head. Something stirred up inside of Pietro; it was something he hadn't felt in years. Guilt. Did he cause her to be a distraught mess in the park? On a Wednesday night? Two days before the school dance? _Girls do look forward to those things._

The park's silence was over bearing. "What happened, Crystalia?" He asked again, using her full name. It always rolled off his tongue.

She sighed, wiping her face. "Don't call me that, and everything just…collapsed."

He felt instant relief. Everything wasn't entirely his fault.

"First the professor said he couldn't locate the other Inhumans." Crystal started as the swing she was sitting on started to move back and forth, as if it was copying her hand motion. "Then little things at school just didn't want to work. Then I saw you with all those girls. It just killed me. Two years ago, we just...I dunno. We connected, but it felt like the connection broke the moment you left Attilan and then this. The fight kinda made me...ugh!" Crystal explained, just as a pile of sand behind them flew up. Pietro's guilt was kicking in again. So, it _was_ his fault.

Crystal continued her rant. "And then Kitty made a scene out of it and I guess the others figured out." Okay, so he could blame Kitty.

"Then Scott made me so mad in the Danger Room when he wouldn't work with me. That blast also hurt a lot." Pietro could also blame Summers for this. He could...

"Wait, he blasted you? I'm kicking his ass for sure now!" As soon as he sad that, Crystal started sobbing again. Did he offend her while trying to defend her? Was he really that bad at comforting crying girls?

"I just blew up in there, Pietro! I couldn't control it. Sure, Scott's a bit of a jerk, but he didn't deserve all those harsh things I said to him." She blurted out; the swing stopped. Crystal put her face in her hands and cried. Pietro watched awkwardly. He really didn't know how to deal with this sort of thing.

_Even when someone mistreats her, she gives them the benefit of the doubt. Wonder if she did that with me_, he thought as he let her cry for a moment.

Finally, she sniffled and wiped her nose. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to cry." _I just got my answer_, Pietro thought.

Unable to take her awkward bouts of crying, he suddenly stood up and held his hand out for her. "Crystal, let's take a walk together. I'll go slow for you." She took his hand.

They made their way out of the park and walked in silence. It wasn't too over bearing since her sobs were now sniffles. Soon, they were sitting back to back on the tiny bridge that went over the creek. Their legs dangled between the gaps; Pietro's feet and ankles were underwater.

"Hey, about your family, you'll find them. You guys have this weird bond that I know I'll never have with my family. For now, though, look at it this way. You always said you wanted to live among the humans, and see the world from outside Attilan. Here's your chance!" Pietro told her, breaking their silent connection. He could feel her shifting a bit, but then he didn't feel her at all. "Crystal?" He looked behind him.

"I'm right next to you, dummy." He heard from beside him.

"Oh." He said while rubbing his hand through his hair. Then a light bulb went off in his mind. "And, about those girls, it's like I said: They don't mean anything to me. I just have a reputation to hold up."

She glared at him. "And I have one to build." Crystal said firmly.

Pietro sighed as he stretched, and he put his arm around her shoulder. She eyed it, smirking. Perhaps he wasn't completely in the dog house, after all. "I know, but you can't tame a speed demon." He said to her, winking.

For the first time in two days, Crystal laughed a legitimate laugh. Pietro's guilt started to melt away when he heard her.

"I think our connection's still here, Crystalia. If it wasn't, we wouldn't be." He told her while kicking his legs, splashing the creek water.

Crystal smiled at him. "I know, but you and I do have out reputations to consider now."

Pietro smiled back at her. "Yeah, we do."

"Hmm," she thought for a moment before suggestin, "we could be friends."

He mulled this over in his haid. Could he survive just being friends with her? Could his _ego_ survive the downgrade to the friend-zone? What if, heaven forbid, she got a boyfriend? He'd probably beat the jerk up just for looking at _his_ Crystal. "With benefits?" Pietro finally added.

She looked confused. "What kind of benefits?"

How was Pietro going to explain this to Crystal? "Well," Pietro started. "In front of people we could be friends, or enemies, but in private we could do things that friends don't do." This was almost as bad as the time when Magneto tried to give him the talk. Almost.

Crystal's eyes lit up. "Oh! Like couple stuff, you mean?"

Pietro mentally sighed in relief. He wouldn't have to relive that awkward talk. "Yeah, but'll be a secret."

She nodded in understanding. "If anyone asks, tell them...umm...tell them...it doesn't matter!"

He laughed and shook his head. Why was she so adorable to him? "I'll think of something."

"Come on; I want to get home." Crystal said suddenly, hopping up.

If Pietro had just gotten to the park, he would've never guessed she had just been crying her eyes out about ten minutes ago. With her crazy mood swings, elemental powers, and Inhuman heritage, it seems Pietro had got himself caught up in a whirlwind. It didn't help that they were now enemies-with-benefits.

_What had he gotten himself into?_

* * *

**Author's Note: Hello again! I'm actually updating this so soon. Well, soon for me. ;~; I wanted to add some drama into this story since it's mostly comedy so far. And I wanted to do this in Pietro's POV to show his feelings towards Crystal a bit more. I also love writing scenes with the Brotherhood Boys (and Boom-Boom). They're so fun to write. I can go on forever, but I digress. ****Anywho, the next chapter takes place during _Shadow Dance_, so you know where we are in the series. I hope I can update it soon, since it'll be a bit easier to write, being canon and all. **

**Please review! I really want to know what you readers think of this so far. It really helps! I do check my reader stats. Thank you! 3**


	7. Dance in the Dark

**Dance in the Dark**

"Jean, wake up!" Crystal said as she shook her roommate awake. "We're going to be late!" She was still struggling out of her pajamas and into her Danger Room outfit.

Jean blinked in confusion as the sleep dissolved away. When she realized what Crystal was talking about, she, too, got up. "Crap," she said.

Crystal and Jean scrambled around their room, quickly throwing on their uniforms. As they ran out of their room, the elevator doors were closing. Their panic was kicking in. "Hold that elevator!" They shouted in unison.

The doors opened to reveal Kitty and Rogue. Kitty was holding the Doors Open button as Crystal and Jean entered. The ride downstairs was awkward after Jean explained why we had to be at the Danger Room so early. Rogue seemed moodier than ever. It put a damper on the atmosphere.

Kitty waved it off as if it were nothing strange. "She's just bummed out about the girls' dance. You know, the no touching thin," she told them. They nodded in understanding. Jean couldn't be in large crowds without getting headaches, and Crystal was an alien. "So, are you going to the dance with Duncan?" Kitty asked Jean.

Jean laughed, almost bitterly and sarcastically. "He thinks so. He already bought the tickets. I just might have to disappoint him."

Kitty and Crystal laughed. The love square between Jean, Duncan, her friend, and Scott was so tedious sometimes. She almost rolled her eyes. This whole thing wouldn't be happening if Jean only realized her true feelings. "It's like a soap opera or tele-novella. You're Consuela, and Scott is Javier. Duncan is your controlling husband, Roberto, and your friend is Anita, the nosey woman next door," Crystal said without realizing it until the others laughed.

"Speaking of soap operas, how's yours going, Crys? Are you going to the dance with Pietro?" Jean asked as the three of them walked into the Danger Room.

Crystal frowned. Secretly, she really wanted a fairy tale dance, like the ones in her novellas. Pietro would pick her up in a nice suit and car. A song they both liked would come on; they'd both agree to dance. As they danced, a spotlight would shine on them, and they'd both forget the world. That couldn't happen, though. Her fantasy burst as realization kicked in. Crystal and Pietro weren't a couple. They both had to find dates.

When Crystal realized that, she scoffed. "Yeah, right. After the whole park incident, I'm not even breathing the same air as him," she told them. After that day, she told them that she and Pietro agreed that it was best to disagree on their ideas on relationships. Pietro had told people that she pushed him into the lake. It was almost the same thing, if they were in a parallel universe.

The conversation ended as Kurt tried on one of Forge's gizmos. It was something to do with dimensions, two miles, and some groovy things. Crystal was following most of it until Forge added in his '70's lingos. "Human slang is so interesting," she whispered to Rogue as they waved to Kurt. Rogue almost laughed; Crystal was almost as outdated as Forge was.

They all watched as Kurt teleported away and was back quickly. Before he could fully explain everything, Professor Xavier dismissed the students. They went back upstairs and got ready for school.

Crystal usually rode with Jean and Scott, but after her big blow up, she rode with Rogue and Risty. It was a strange experience, but not half as bad as riding with Scott would have been. Before classes started, Pietro texted Crystal as she was at her locker. He wanted to talk to her at lunch behind the bleachers. She resisted a smile while walking to her first class.

Before lunch, Crystal had home-economics with Jean. They class had to work in assigned pairs on a sewing assignment. The teacher assigned her to work with Dane Whitman, a junior. She had talked to Dane on a few occasions, but they really didn't know each other too well.

"So, Crystal, are you going to the dance?" he asked in an attempt to make small talk.

Crystal shrugged. "I want to, but I don't have a date. Are you going?" She replied, looking at him from the corners of her eyes.

Dane scoffed. "Dances aren't my thing. I've been asked by a few, but they weren't the type I'd want to go with. They're shallow and materialistic; I'd want someone more down to earth," he confessed, quickly going back to the instruction paper.

"I know this is sudden, but will you go with me? You don't have to say yes or anything, but you know. I want to go, being my first dance and all. You're really nice, too, so I thought asking you wouldn't be a big deal," Crystal rambled as she packed up the sewing materials before class ended.

He laughed. Crystal felt rejected until he spoke again. "Sure, why not. I'll pick you up at eight." The bell rang and Dane left before Crystal could respond. She was speechless, though.

Jean came up to her and smiled. "Someone got a date for the dance. I didn't think Dane was your type. But then again, your only other type is well…Pietro." Jean said to her, grinning as they walked out together.

"I don't even know why I asked him! It just slipped out, I guess. He's cute and all, but I don't know. We'll just see how the dance goes." She said, frowning a bit.

At lunch, Crystal waited underneath the bleachers at the field for Pietro. He appeared next to her, a brown bag in his hand. She smiled at him, but then he pulled her into a hug. She was surprised; she was sure PDA was not going to help his reputation. When he let go, he pulled out two sandwiches from his bag and gave one to Crystal.

"Hey, Crystalia. Ready for our date tonight?" He asked as she ate her meatball sub.

She nearly choked as she remembered that they made plans for the night of the dance. He didn't want to go to the dance, so he figured he would take her out for dinner or something. She forgot about it when Dane asked her about the dance.

"About that, Pietro," she started, "I have to cancel. I'm going to the dance tonight. I found a date." Crystal felt guilty, but they weren't a couple. They were kind of, but not officially or seriously.

Pietro frowned. "I thought you weren't going! Gah! Who are you going with anyway?" He took a large bite out of his Philly cheese steak sub.

She smiled sheepishly. "Dane Whitman; he's a junior in my Home-Ec. class. I didn't plan on asking him, but it slipped out. He said yes. You and I could go out after the dance. We don't have to be back at the mansion until 12:30." She told him, trying to soften the blow.

He looked dejected. She was going with a popular junior who could have any girl he wanted, but he chose his Crystal. He was going to top that with four dates. He knew a few girls had asked him, but he rejected them because he _thought_ he had a date. "W-well, I got a date, too! I wasn't going to say yes to them, but why not!"

Crystal laughed, making Pietro more confused. "I'm glad you're going tonight! If you want to hang out afterwards, just tell me later." And with that, she left, waving to him as she walked away. Pietro quickly sped in the opposite direction as her. He needed a date now.

After school, Crystal rode home with Rogue, Kitty, and Risty. The news of her date spread quickly and Kitty tried to pry her of more info. Crystal told them what happened in Home-Ec. Kitty planned on helping Crystal with her outfit. She groaned; if it was anything like the night she had her date with Pietro, then she was in for a long night.

When Risty dropped them off, Jean told them they had to meet in the Danger Room again. The girls groaned before going upstairs and changing. After Kurt's experiment that morning, Professor Xavier, Logan, and Forge found something strange on the monitor. After Kurt left, it didn't take long for the Professor to get a call from Logan. He dismissed them and they all left to get ready for the dance.

Kitty searched her closet, looking for a dress that Crystal would look great in. She finally settled on a short white, homecoming dress with black embroidered flowers on the shoulder strap and side and black ribbon for a belt. Rogue did her makeup and hair, curling it. The others got ready and waited downstairs for their dates.

"You know, why aren't we picking up our dates? It is Sadie Hawkins," Jean commented as she, Crystal, and Kitty waited for their dates.

Crystal's foot tapped as she stood with Jean. Dane was currently talking with Duncan after running into him on his way back from the bathroom. The group of guys laughed and talked, ignoring the two girls. Dane soon came back to Crystal, though, taking her to the dance floor. She gave Jean a small smile before a fast song came on.

Dancing wasn't something Crystal was an expert at, and humans had a strange way of dancing. She did what other girls were doing and soon got the hang of it. Dane didn't seem to notice, or he didn't care because he just kept dancing with her. Looking around, she saw that the other X-Men were having a good time, except Jean.

"You're a good dancer," Crystal said over the music to Dane.

"Thanks, you aren't bad either. Want some punch?" Dane asked, taking Crystal to the punch bar.

She looked around, smiling. Her jaw dropped when she noticed that Pietro came in with four girls. They looked eyes from across the gym. She shook her head, smirking. He shrugged his shoulders, smirking back. Dane handed her the punch after the little exchange she had with Pietro. Hopefully, he didn't see it.

A slow song came on, and both Dane and Crystal looked at each other awkwardly. "Wanna dance?" They said in unison before laughing. They went out to the dance floor and he put his hands on her hips. Her arms went around his neck. She rested her head on his shoulders. It felt nice, but the nice feeling didn't stay for too long. A strange energy coursed through the air, causing her to jump.

Dane noticed. "You okay?" he asked, pausing for a moment.

"Yeah, I'm okay. Just a little cold." Crystal lied, pretending to shiver. Before she knew it, Dane's black sports jacket was over her small body. "Thanks," she said, looking up from his satin, purple dress shirt to his smiling face.

Suddenly, everyone stopped dancing. There was a strange ball of light forming in between Kitty and Lance. Everyone gasped, and Crystal dragged Dane with her as she went closer. Dane tried to warn her not to get too close, but stopped as the ball glowed. Two strange reptilian creatures walked out of the portal, and everyone in the gym started to panic. Dane tried to drag her away. Before he pulled her out, she discretely sent a powerful gust of wind towards one of the creatures.

In the hall, everyone was trying to get away. Somehow, Dane and Crystal got separated. She sighed before running back to the gym. She ran over to Kitty and Lance when a creature came their way. Lance made a fault in the floor, and he and Crystal pulled the hunk of ground over the creature using his quaking powers and her Earth powers.

"I'm going to go check Forge's lab!" she shouted to Kitty over the commotion before running out of the gym. As she ran down the hall, she bumped into someone. "Pietro, move! I need to check the lab for more creatures!" She told the speed demon as she got up.

Pietro shook his head, helping her up. "I checked. There's no more." He looked her up and down. "You look great tonight. Ditch your date?" He asked with a smirk.

"No...Maybe. I had to help the others!" she said as he laughed and picked her up bridal style.

He ran to the parking lot and placed her by his car. "Come on, I'll take you home since you ditched your date for me."

She rolled her eyes, playfully slapping his arm. "What about your dates? Ditch them for me?"

"No way! They ditched me as soon as they saw you and knew they didn't stand a chance," he said, starting the car and heading to Xavier's.

"You're sweet, Pietro," Crystal told him, holding his free hand.

Pietro rolled his eyes. "Don't let that get out," he said jokingly.

**A/N:: Hey, guys! Long time no update! Haha...Anywho, sorry about not updating sooner. I was busy with a thing called high school. Ugh. Anywho, I hate now I ended this chapter, but oh well. Hey, look! It's the Black Knight/Dane Whitman! A possible love interest! Don't know if he'll have more story in here, considering I hate the way I wrote him, but meh! Couldn't keep you waiting any longer. Review for me?**


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